When Nicolas from the USA did sent me an email with his project for 3D silicone wristbands I had to look twice at the drawings to be sure I understood well what he wanted me to make for him ! Silicone wristbands with a well identified pair of hanging balls !

From the mail I understood it wasn’t a joke at all, but an extremely serious project and subject. The message Nicolas wants to communicate with these wristbands is following :

It takes balls to fight cancer.

It’s an original way of fundrising for Cancer charity putting a highlight on testicular cancer. Indeed most campaigns about cancer in the USA and Europe focus on breast cancer with slogans like : .“Save the Ta Ta’s”… »Save the boob’s”.

I’m sure that the campaign will be succesfull as most probably TV and magazines will talk about it.

To learn more visit the website with balls: http://bigroundballs.com

I don’t think there are many products in the promotional product industry that did get so many differents names !

Here are just some I found in the UK:

Logobugs, Logo-bugs, Messenger Bugs, Promo Bugs, Fluffy Bugs, Furry Bugs, Weepuls, Billbos, GB1, Budget Bugs, Handy Bugs, Promotional Bugs, Flumps, Original Bug, Ad Bugs, Ad-bugs, Shaggies, Novelty Bugs, Bug novelties, Sticky Bugs, Bugs, Advertising Bugs Pon Poms, Galaxy Bugs, Glitter Bugs, Themed Bugs, Fluffy Balls, Gonks, Fuzzy bugs.

I’m sure some of them are familiar to you ! All these names are gives to the same product, the logobugs, a product that keeps up it’s place in the market of promotional products since more than 25 years.

up from 250 pieces your message can be printed on the ribbon, and you can choose from many different themes, sport bugs, animal bugs, and many more. Below  are a few nice examples.

If you want more information about this evergreen promotional product, contact for example these guys :

www.wupieman.nl

Who didn’t see this product yet?

Colorfull silicone wristbands with a message or logo. Many suppliers in the UK propose this product, some are cheap, some are serious, and only a few are cheap and serious as well.

How can you determine if a supplier of wristbands is serious ?

If the supplier only propose you a restriced quantity of available wristband colors, be carrefull, it means they are not real proffesionals. The serious producers can make your wristbands in any color , even for small quantities.

How can the silicone wristbands be personalised ?  There are four main options :

Just printed wristbands( in the color of your choice )

An easy option, just be carrefull not to print light colors on dark backgrounds. Also be aware that some UK suppliers for silicone wristbands print very bad quality which fades away after a few days already.

Debossed wristbands( the text is in hollow )

A nice option, this is how the very first silicone wristbands were made for Armstrong. The disadvantage will be that the text is not  very visible, especialy if you deboss small letters.

Embossed wristbands( Like braille )

Not used by many people, but it is a nice option as well. I think that only 15% of all wristbands are made using this technique, that’s a pity.

Debossed and filled with ink

By far the best and most beautifull option, it costs just a little more but the result is worth the difference in cost. The debossed text is filled with ink, so the thickness of the ink assurs an excellent visibility.

What is the cost for silicone wristbands with your own text or logo ? Googling around the web you’ll find many websites in the UK selling custom  silicone wristbands. Only a few websites indicate clearly the costs, as an exemple, Horizonsources UK has a page with online prices, easy to understand.

For 1000 silicone wristbands with your own text printed or debossed you’ll pay £0.25 per piece including set up charges and freight ( delivery in the UK ).

Prices will drop when quantity increase : For 10 000 pieces you’ll be charges £0.17 only.

Contact for more information :

Horizonsources UK

Silicone wristbands UK

phone : 020 7099 2166

Steve Gadd

Hi everybody, It’s friday afternoon, We’ll have a nice sunny week-end starting in a few hours so let’s have a look all together at a funny invisible promotional product !

I received the information from Scott Amron, an email with the title  » invisible money clip » proposing us to post an article here about the product on the PPI blog.  I was quit surprised as the word « invisible » is quit opposit to the way we want promotional products to work !

So I had a look at his website : www.allcash.org and it appears that luckely he has two versions of his money clip, one invisible, one visible for the promotional product industry.

Have a look at the video on their homepage and all you american readers will understand immedialty that it’s a good product. For people here in Europe it may look like a strange product if you never traveled in the US. The explanation is that in the USA nearly everywhere, in taxis, bars, restaurants, etc, you TIP à few dollars for service, so Americans always have a couple of loose Dollars in their pocket. This item keeps them together in an innovative and nice way.

To read more about the product and to see their video : www.allcash.org

It’s not easy to invent a new promotional product ! Here are some of the things Scott tried before : www.amronexperimental.com it’s worth a look.

The Winnies are some sweet promotional plushes you can use for almost any kind of promotion!
Seriously, this little giveaway can adapt to any company, any purpose, any target…

It exists many different models and the best I can do is give you some examples of how you can use them:

This scotsman winnies can be a good giveaway for Travel agencies who want to promote journeys to Scotland.

This funny Winnie with Mexican Hat is perfect to be distributed in the street to promote a new Mexican restaurant for example! Print the address of the restaurant on the ribbon and a free aperitif on presentation of the winnie!

A dental clinic could perfectly give this winnie as a little gift for children to remind them that it ’s important to wash their teeth…
Don’t forget to print the clinic’s phone number and address on the ribbon!

This little Bee can be the mascot of a Honey brand. Make a special promotion and offer the bee winnie to thank a client for the purchase of your honey jar…

The healthy food Winnie can be distributed for a government’s campaign to encourage the young to eat more fresh vegetable and prevent from obesity.

This nice penguin can be sold as a souvenir in a zoo, it can be sold to collect money for an animal defence organization, etc.

The mobile phone Winnie can be used by a mobile phone company to communicate an offer, get to know a new product, etc.

To see our different winnie models, visit our Website: www.horizonsources.com

Article from Michael Crooks from Crooks Advertisng Alliance in the USA

Effective Goody Bag Marketing
Goody Bags may be one of the most powerful promotional marketing opportunities available to you. It’s certainly one of the most overlooked and under-utilized. The « Goody Bag » is that bag-full of « goodys » that is handed out to participants at golf outings, conferences, seminars and events to add value to participation.

Most companies mistakenly donate some « cheap » do-dad such as a pen, pencil or refrigerator magnet imprinted with their corporate info. The practice is long on « feel good » for the donators. But, because little or no actual thought usually goes into the donation, the practice has little or no real promotional value. Key Point: More important than the item you donate, is the idea behind what you imprint on the donated item. That’s worth repeating, because it’s the cornerstone of my theory on promotional marketing, « More important than the item you donate is the idea behind what you imprint on the donated item. » Because with a little more thought you can turn a giveaway into a powerful promotion.

Here’s a couple of examples:
Two health-related companies. Both want to drive traffic to their website. Company 1 imprints their website address on an pen and donates it to the goody bag. Company 2 donates a pen. But their imprint says, « Visit www.fakewebsite.com for 10 secrets to keeping your family healthy. » Company 2 promises a benefit for visiting their website. The sad truth of the matter is, most companies do what company 1 did. Company 2 could have printed their message on a sponge a band-aid dispenser, or an antimicrobial light switch cover  it doesn’t really matter. What matters most is WHAT is imprinted on the product.

Remember, anytime you can tell people what’s in it for them — before they even ask — you’re a step a head of the game.

Main Benefits of Goody Bag Marketing It’s Free!
One of the biggest benefits of Goody Bag marketing is that most events allow you to donate items to the bag for free. Because most organizations view the Goody Bag as a benefit to the event participants, they will gladly accept just about any item you want to donate. That makes the Goody Bag a great free way to impact a target audience.

Extremely Targeted
The ability to specifically target your audience is another huge benefit of Goody Bag marketing. Whether your target is senior citizens, stock brokers, chamber of commerce members, business-owners or employees of a specific corporation, there is a golf outing, seminar, conference or other event that will give you access to your target.

The key to making Goody Bag marketing as effective as possible, is to think in terms of how the item you donate can generate phone calls, drive people to your website, your retail location or other wise secure actionable data that you can follow up on later.If you are a local retailer your goal may be to drive traffic to your store. If you are a B2B supplier or a non-profit, your goal may be to drive traffic to your website. Whatever your goal, it usually takes more than simply slapping your logo and contact information on a pencil, pen or note pad. It takes thought and planning.

Here are a few things to consider when planning a Goody Bag marketing strategy.

1) Determine Your Target: Make a physical list of targets either on a legal pad or in your computer. When creating your list, think in terms of industries, occupations as well as individual interest. For example, if you sell flooring, perhaps you’ll write down REALTORS, builders, interior designers and plumbers. If you sell computers, consider Chamber of Commerce, IT professionals and manufacturers, computer users. If you sell athletic shoes your list may include school athletic directors, gym teachers, fitness centers and marathon runners and podiatrists or chiropodists.

2) Research The Possibilities: Once you have a list of possible targets, research how to reach the target. Google « associations list » or « list of associations » and you’ll find resources for locating an association that represents exactly who you want to target. You can also do the same for « clubs », « service clubs » or whatever other type of group, club, association, individual or business group you are interested in targeting.

3) Contact: Contact them and find out what upcoming golf outings, seminars, conferences or other events they have planned. Once you learn of an event that interests you, find out if they plan to offer Goody Bags and if they are accepting donations.

4) Get Details: Get the details regarding event date, when items need to be delivered, if they have any rules regarding donations and if they have anything in particular they’re looking for. Note: be sure and find out specifically what’s NOT welcome for the goody bag. No sense investing in a promotional item you can’t use.

All of this information will impact the promotional marketing concept you’ll develop to effectively impact your target. Because the variables are simply too broad to address in a single article, specific tactics for using Goody Bag marketing and how to develop a meaningful promotion will be covered in future articles.

You can contact Michael Crooks visit www.CrooksAdvertising .com

Everybody knows the good old Car-Air-Freshener: the paper air freshener which commonly has the shape of a pine tree.

We use it too less as a promotional product, when it’s very cheap and effective to promote a message.
The Paper Air Freshener for the car is die-cut to your logo’s shape, printed full colour and can diffuse the fragance of your brand!

Horizonsources manufactures its own Car Air Freshener up from 1000 units only!

To read the continuation of this fascinating article, click here

The new tendency in the young and teenagers, is the glitter temporary tattoo!

They now sell some Glitter tattoos kits with stencils, glue and glitter so that everyone can make it’s own home-made glitter temporary tattoo! In the United States they sell those kits like hot cakes!

The company HORIZONSOURCES, manufacturer of custom temporary tattoos, offer a perfect alternative: the Glitter Custom Temporary Tattoo!

To read the continuation of this fascinating article, click here

We really are in the silicone age!

Wristbands, watches, Muffin pans, sex toys, breast implants and a lot more products are made in silicone.
Why? Because it’s a smooth material, flexible, non porous, ultra resistant, odourless, and last but not least: totally non toxic!

Derivative from the quartz, it’s a material widely used with a medical and surgical purpose.

In the promotional product industry, the most successful silicone promotional products are : the silicone wristbands, silicone watches, and the silly bands…
Those products are made of 100% silicone, and can be customized in a thousand colours and models:

To read the continuation of this fascinating article, click here

Toxel.com

Did you know that many famous companies have objects and symbols hidden inside their logos?
This post showcases cool logo designs that cleverly use negative space to convey subliminal messages.

The subliminal messages are any sensory stimuli below an individual’s absolute threshold for conscious perception. Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an individual may process them, or flashed and then masked, thereby interrupting the processing.
Introduced in 1897, the concept became controversial as « subliminal messages » in 1957 when marketing practitioners claimed its potential use in persuasion…

Here are some examples of fantastic logos hiding a subliminal message:

To read the continuation of this fascinating article, click here